Queen as Mother: 1780-1786

1780

Marie Antoinette and her children often reside at Petit Trianon, Versailles’ “nature retreat,” only occasionally inviting the king.

Around this time, Marie Antoinette is rumored to have a romantic relationship with the Swedish diplomat and French army officer, Count Axel von Fersen.

1781

Marie Antoinette’s son Louis Joseph is born in 1781

A pamphlet showing Marie Antoinette with another man.

1782

Marie Antoinette is accused of ignoring her duties at court by spending all her time at play in her Trianon retreat.

1783

The growing public hatred of Marie Antoinette is reflected and fed by an unstoppable supply of pamphlets, which portray the Queen as immoral, ignorant, extravagant, and adulterous.

1785

Marie Antoinette’s son Louis Charles is born.

The Queen's Hameau

The Diamond Necklace Affair hurts Marie Antoinette's already-poor reputation. A thief forges the Queen's signature in order to purchase an extremely expensive that had been made for the Comtesse du Barry. The Cardinal de Rohan and a group of swindlers are truly at fault, but they are found innocent, while Marie-Antoinette is harshly (and permanently) judged in the court of public opinion.

1786

Marie Antoinette’s daughter Sophie Béatrix is born.

Marie Antoinette builds Hameau, a mock village on the Versailles grounds, and is fiercely criticized for things she did and many more things she was imagined to be doing there.